Education: Conservative Students

Two years ago the scientific curiosity of Dr. Erland Nelson, a
psychology professor at Newberry College (Newberry, S.C.), was aroused
by frequent reports in the press that this one or that one had called
U.S. university youth radical. Equipped with an "opinionaire" (a test
with questions on 60 controversial issues), Professor Nelson went to
the horse's mouth, examined students on 18 campusesfour State
universities, 14 denominational collegesmostly in the Middle West.
Sample issues raised: capitalism, communism, divorce, free trade, race
toleration. Students who favored maintaining the status quo were rated
"conservative," those...